Pressure relief mattresses

Three questions decide it: how many hours a day the person spends in bed, whether they can change position by themselves, and whether there is any skin damage already. Existing redness or breakdown moves the requirement up a category immediately. We assess at the free visit rather than selling from a price list.

No. For someone at low risk it is the wrong choice: the cells move constantly, which some people find hard to sleep on, and the pump runs all night. If a person repositions themselves normally, a good foam mattress is the correct answer, not a cheaper compromise.

A low air loss system moves a small volume of air through the mattress surface to manage moisture and heat at the skin. Warm damp skin breaks down far more readily and heals slower, so it addresses a risk factor that pressure relief alone does not. It is used for higher risk situations and existing wounds.

No. It is not an Assistive Devices Program category. ODSP, March of Dimes Canada, WSIB, Veterans Affairs, IFHP and private insurance often do contribute, especially where a wound already exists, and we complete those applications for you.

Use fitted sheets cut for a profiling mattress. Ordinary sheets pull tight when the bed articulates and create a ridge across the surface, which concentrates pressure exactly where you are trying to relieve it. Never put a plastic undersheet over a therapy mattress; it traps moisture and defeats the system.

Medical mattresses come in standard sizes to fit homecare and hospital bed frames. If you have a domestic bed, tell us, because sizing and the way the mattress sits in the frame both differ. We check it at the assessment before delivering anything.

Yes, and for a wound that is expected to heal, or for a short period at home after hospital, renting is usually the sensible route. We deliver and fit across the GTA and collect when it is no longer needed. It costs far less by the month than people assume.

Alternating and low air loss systems have a static mode or a non-return valve so the mattress holds air and stays supportive rather than deflating. Hybrid mattresses have a foam core underneath and remain usable regardless. We explain what yours does when we fit it.

Press down firmly with your palm where the hips and sacrum rest. If you can feel the base board through it, the foam has bottomed out and is no longer redistributing anything. It looks identical to a new one from the outside, which is why nobody notices.

Heels are the most common site of pressure damage because there is almost no tissue between skin and bone there, and a mattress alone does not fully offload them. Heel protection boots or wedges address it directly, and we will raise it if the person spends long periods lying flat.

Alternating pressure pumps make a low continuous sound, and some people find it disturbing at first while others stop noticing within a week. If sleep is already poor, tell us, because a hybrid may be the better choice for the same protection with less noise.

Usually within a day or two, and we prioritise cases where there is skin breakdown already. If someone has redness that is not fading, ring today rather than waiting, because the difference between stage one and an open wound is days rather than weeks.